'Arunachal wushu players row a diplomatic matter, OCA looking into it'

Raising last-minute hopes that the three wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh who have been 'denied entry' into China can still compete at the Asian Games, acting Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said the Asian Games organisers are examining the issue.

“OCA is looking into it, definitely. Since it’s a diplomatic issue, they’re looking into it. And hopefully, let’s see, (whether) something good comes out of it," he said a press conference in Hangzhou on Sunday.

Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu were not given clearance to travel to China despite getting their accreditation cards. They were issued stapled visas by China, indicating that China does not recognise India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh and that anyone from that Indian state would therefore not need visas to enter China.

As has happened in the past, India have therefore not sent the three athletes.

The issue around the Arunachali wushu players is because of the age-old dispute between India and China over their borders. In November 2020, China reportedly built a village in Arunachal Pradesh with more than 101 homes approximately 4.5 kilometres from the de-facto border. Earlier that year, as many as 20 soldiers were killed in a border skirmish between the two countries.

Raja Randhir defends decision to let North Korean flag fly

One of the special moment of the 2023 Asian Games opening ceremony was when the North Korean delegation entered, but questions have been raised on how they could display their flag as they have been explicitly banned from doing so by WADA over non-compliance with anti-doping practices.

"Everyone should participate and have the opportunity to participate and if there are certain issues which happened through the pandemic, we should consider that and take it into account," Raja Randhir said at the press conference.

North Korea has sent a nearly 200-strong team to Hangzhou, ending its years-long isolation from global sports.